Customer Reviews

Cabaret (Original Broadway Cast)

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Those who know "Cabaret" only from the popular movie version staring Liza Minnelli are missing quite a lot. The original Broadway cast recording is a delight fom start to finish. With a cast lead by Lotte Lenya as Fraulein Schneider, Jack Gilferd as Herr Schultz, Jill Haworth as Sally, Bert Convy as Cliff, and Joel Grey as the emcee, we know we are in good hands from the first note of music. The recording starts with Grey's definitive version of "Willkommen," in which the sinister emcee invites us into the seemingly lovely, but downright evil world of Berlin in the early 1930's. From then on, it's a string of hits, including well known songs like "Tommorrow Belongs to Me," "If You Could See Her," and the title song. This recording also has lesser known, but equally wonderful songs not included in the movie, such as "So What?," "Perfectly Marvelous," "Married," and my personal favorite: "Meeskite." The movie version may be silver, but this is gold. Buy it today, and enjoy "Cabaret" in all it's original glory.

Ah, Cabaret. The Original Broadway Cast Recording isn't the same as the show you can see on Broadway today, or the 1972 film - but it's still remarkable in its own right. True, the script left out Cliff's bisexuality, but that doesn't really affect the recording. And what a recording it is!

Joel Grey starts matters off with "Willkommen," and this sets the tone for the rest of the recording. Grey, whose impish performance was recreated for the film, is still remarkable fun. His numbers are fun, yes, but they also make brilliant, dark commentary on the show's events - particularly "If You Could See Her," even though that used a compromise line in the very end. Jill Haworth plays the immortal character of Sally Bowles with style, and her rendition of "Cabaret" is stunning. We don't hear much of Bert Convy's Cliff (it's mostly a speaking role), but his solo "Why Should We Wake Up?" is a treat nonetheless.

Then, we have the "comic couple" of the traditional musical - played here by Lotte Lenya and Jack Gilford as Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schultz, respectively. Lenya was a legend, and with good cause - from the first note of "It Couldn't Please Me More," you will doubt that anybody else could ever play Fraulein Schneider. And while I'm not all that fond of "Meeskite," Gilford is wonderful in the beautiful duets "It Couldn't Please Me More" and "Married." It's worth noting that there is some beautiful choral work here, particularly on the song "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" - which is a lovely, lingering number all about the Nazi message. It's with "Tomorrow..." that we really feel the underlying sickness of Cabaret, and its true genius.

There are a few numbers I don't care that much for - "The Money Song" and "Meeskite" in particular (the revival did away with them, so I'm clearly not alone) - but every other number on this recording is solid gold. And even the lesser songs on this album are excellent. Cabaret is, I think, the greatest American musical of all time...and this is as good a starting point as the new recording or the movie on DVD. And if you're a fan of the revival or the film, there's more joy to behold here.

It's worth noting that the album has a great ear for every song, and sounds fresh and crisp - like it was recorded yesterday. This is probably the best album in the Columbia Broadway Masterworks series, in no small part thanks to the fact that Goddard Lieberson produced the original, and his successor Thomas Z. Shepard was behind the remastering. And the great part is, these albums are only $$! So there's no reason not to pick it up.

While the 1972 movie starring Liza Minnelli is probably the most well-known version of "Cabaret", this 1966 Broadway version is where it all started.

Led by a talented cast, including Jill Haworth (Sally Bowles), Lotte Lenya (Fraulein Schneider), and the incredible Joel Grey (Master Of Ceremonies), this Kander & Ebb musical is excellent and contains a classic score.

Best tracks include:

Wilkommen (Mr. Grey's signature song)
Two Ladies
It Couldn't Please Me More
Tomorrow Belongs To Me
The Money Song
Married
If You Could See Her
Cabaret

One should note, however, that two classic "Sally Bowles" songs were added for the movie: "Mein Herr" & "Maybe This Time".

This is a great cd! ... but if you want a version that includes these songs, try the movie soundtrack or the 1999 Revival Cast (which also includes "I Don't Care Much").

That chilling introductory drumroll and cymbal crash, followed by the equally chilling sound of Joel Grey's voice singing "Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome," is enough to tell the listener that CABARET is an exceptional show and that its original cast recording is exceptional, too. In CABARET, realistic book scenes are interspersed with floor show-style sequences that comment on the action. The result is a moving, disturbing take on the rise of the Nazis in 1930's Berlin. There is no question that the librettist/composer/ lyricist team of Joe Masteroff, John Kander, and Fred Ebb - aided by the innovative staging of director Harold Prince - created a revolutionary musical in CABARET. The recording is justly dominated by Grey's epicene Master of Ceremonies, while Bert Convy and Jill Haworth are in wonderful voice as the two lovers (just listen to Convy's gloriously sung "Why Should I Wake Up?"). However, the "secondary couple" - the legendary Lotte Lenya as Fraulein Schneider and Jack Gilford as her Jewish suitor, Herr Schultz - are the stars here. Lenya (aided by two character-defining solos, "So What?" and "What Would You Do?") gives a vivid characterization of the aging landlady whose engagement to Schultz is doomed, while Gilford sings his part of the duet "Married" with affecting simplicity and is adorably droll in the comic narrative "Meeskite." The orchestral playing is spectacular and the digitally remastered sound equally so. And included as one of eight bonus tracks on this reissue is Kander and Ebb's haunting rendition of "I Don't Care Much," a song cut from the original production (but restored in the recent revival). This has quickly become one of my favorite original Broadway cast recordings.

Want to know why Cabaret is a classic? Just listen to this recording. The songs are masterfully crafted and beautifully performed by a great cast, including Joel Grey, Bert Convy, Lotte Lenya, Jack Gilford, and Jill Haworth. Though the show has undergone numerous changes since this recording was produced in 1966, there are still no better recordings of the score in its original form. This remastered version also includes a number of fascinating bonus tracks which show what the show might have been had things gone a little differently. No matter what they did to it, it had to be good, but the version we got--faithfully represented on this recording--should be in everyone's library.

"She isn't a meeskite at all" was, I am told, actually the version used in many Broadway performances, when it was feared that audiences would think the original line ("she wouldn't look Jewish") was literally anti-semitic rather than a portrayal of the character's anti-semitism. The original line was restored in later productions and in the movie.

The finale as recorded here was re-shaped to give it something of the effect it had in the theatre: The point of the original dialogue is that the characters are repeating lines we heard them say earlier in the evening. Since those earlier dialogue scenes are not on the record, it was decided to have the characters reprise their songs instead, so that someone who hadn't seen the show would still get the effect of characters appearing to "echo" things they've already said. I don't necessarily agree with this decision, but after all, a cast album is not supposed to be a literal re-creation of what went on on the stage; it's supposed to suggest the show's theatrical impact using just the songs. This album does that very well, though ideally you should have both this *and* the London cast recording. By the way, though he's not credited, I think Edward Kleban might have been Goddard Lieberson's assistant on this recording.

If you were introduced to "Cabaret" by Liza Minnelli (like I was), I urge you to discover it again through this recording of the original cast. There is much more music, and when it is this good, you shouldn't skimp. Along with "Don't Tell Mama" and "Perfectly Marvelous" (which tell you more about Sally Bowles and her relationship with the male lead), you get a fully developed subplot via the landlady (played by the intriguing Lotte Lenya) and her Jewish suitor ("So What?," "It Couldn't Please Me More," and "Meeskite"). With the new bonus tracks, you also get the wonderful song "I Don't Care Much" (done energetically by Barbra Streisand on her second album) and the original finale "It'll All Blow Over."

The film soundtrack with Liza is great, but this original cast recording is much more coherent. This is the rare show recording that tells a full story with the songs. It's quite a cathartic experience!

If you want to hear Cabaret well sung, get the film soundtrack. Liza Minelli is sublime, and adapting the role of Sally Bowles to suit her talents was a stroke of genius, and part of the reason why so many consider the movie (arguably) a masterpiece.

If you want to hear it performed in the true spirit in which it was written, get the OBC. Not for Jill Hayworth as Sally, or even Joel Grey as the Emcee, both are excellent, but get it for Lotte Lenya as Frau Schneider. Her throaty, raspy, accented singing style is totally captivating. Her duets with Jack Gilford (also perfectly cast in the best role of his long career) are charming and bittersweet. But the real reason, and I think the core to Cabarets story, is the song, What Would You Do? It is gut wrenching, her delivery is full of pain, yearning and bewilderment. She asks the question that I'm sure thousands of Germans asked, pre-WWII, in the event of having to sacrifice or face painful consequences. No easy or pleasant answer, and what Cabaret is really about, the sacrifices each character must make, and the choices they have to choose.

I'm a huge Cabaret fan and collector. I've heard several recordings of this musical play and what makes this album so special, besides the fact that is interpreted by the original cast, is that it has some songs that usually are not easily found, just like "The telephone song", "Sitting pretty", "Meeskite" and "Why should I wake up?". it also have one of the best versions I've heard of "Tomorrow belongs to me" and some demos, performed by the authors, of song that didn't make it to the play, but turned into other wonderful and unforgetable tunes such as "Perfectly marvelous" ("Roommates") and "It'll all blow over" ("Tomorrow belongs..."). The best performer in this album are Joel Grey (who would portray the MC again in the movie) and Lotte Lenya (Kurt Weill's wife).

I have never seen the film version of CABARET, nor the stage version. Yet, when I first heard the vinyl version of this original cast recording, I felt like I was in the audience, watching the creepy Master of Ceremonies (the wonderful and understatedly sleezy Joel Grey), beautiful British Sally Bowles (Jill Haworth), and her American boyfriend, Cliff (Bert Convy), from my seat on at mezzanine level, with a pair of field glasses on opening night!

The plot of CABARET is a bit elaborate, so, I won't go into details, here. What's more, giving away too much plot will ruin your experience. This is a musical that you just have to experience for yourself. Set during the height of Nazi occupation, the cabaret is the one venue people go to escape war and pain. The sleezy underworld of the cabaret runs rampant with sexual innuendo, dancing girls and hedonism. The Master of Ceremonies (Grey) presents sexy dancers, a dancing gorilla and welcome everyone to the venue in three languages ("Wilkommen"). Due to fate, he encounters Sally Bowles (Jill Haworth), a free spirited performer who falls in love with Cliff, an American (Burt Convey).

Okay, no more plot. I will tell you this. The music is catchy, wickedly bawdy and full of entendre. Written by John Kander and Fred Ebb, it examines the ins and outs of cultural clash, identity and human violence. The instrumental is deceptively peppy, as if to conceal a reality that the performers are desperately trying to hide. I reccomend this as an engrossing period piece, as well as a great example of the musical theater repertoire.